Star Trek: Voyager

"Gravity"

"There has to be something out there. Shuttles don't just vanish into thin air." — Janeway (and we won't even touch that one)

Nutshell: Pleasant enough, but not much in terms of lasting impact.

"Gravity" is a good example of fifth-season Voyager. It held my interest, it's handsomely produced, and it's a fairly enjoyable hour. It also stands alone in a vacuum, separate from everything else.

Now that we're at the halfway point of the season, I'm feeling the need to comment on the bigger picture. It's pretty simple: Voyager's season has been engaging, keeping me interested in the crew and the stories (so far, this season has proven to be Voyager's best). The writing is generally pretty sharp, and we've avoided the bottom-of-barrel installments that have at times made Voyager notorious. My next question is, what's next? Are we just going to float out here in random respectable plot-land forever, or is there somewhere the ship and series actually can go?

I wonder, if I were the producers of Voyager, if I'd even care at this point. They've apparently found a rhythm, and they're apparently comfortable with it. And their ratings, I'm guessing, are better than they have been in quite a while (although that's just a guess). The stories seem to be working more often than not. And unlike many past seasons, I don't feel Voyager is mediocre Trek; I feel that it's pretty entertaining, if derivative in numerous ways.

At the same time, I wish the writers would follow through—something they seem to feel is completely unnecessary. I wish they would take risks—something they also seem to think is unnecessary. I wish they wouldn't settle for the conventional solid story when they could push for the unconventional solid story instead.

"Gravity" is a good example of what I'm talking about. All things considered, it's a pretty respectable hour that uses its characters sensibly, but it's not particularly memorable, and it relies on the most fundamental of the fundamentals. One of those fundamentals is the Shuttle Crash Setup. Another is the Venture Into a Character's Past. Another is the Weird Spatial Anomaly. And another is the One-Hour Romantic Theme. That's quite a number of Trekkian standbys to find in one episode, but, lest you think standbys can't be executed well, "Gravity" manages to assemble the pieces into a whole that makes a surprising amount of sense—although it does have some rough spots.

The Shuttle Crash du jour involves Tuvok and Paris ("I told you we should've brought the Delta Flyer," Tom offers helpfully), who have been sucked into a "subspace sinkhole" where escape would be impossible even if their shuttle hadn't been totaled. Realizing they may be stranded awhile, or forever, they try to make the best of a long-term survival situation. Fortunately for them, they have Doc's portable emitter. Of course, if being stranded forever really were to be the outcome here, Voyager would find itself in dire straits the next time there were a medical emergency.

Not to worry: Even though Tuvok and Paris find themselves living two months on this planet, the cleverly scripted properties of the Weird Spatial Anomaly ensure that time passes more quickly inside this subspace sinkhole than outside, meaning that while two months have passed for Paris and Tuvok, only a day has passed for the Voyager crew members, who have launched a rescue plan involving precise use of the transporter.

The crew's rescue operation is complicated by the appearance of some aliens who are determined to seal off this sinkhole in order to prevent more ships from being lost into it. They're scheduled to begin tomorrow. Janeway would like just a little more time to prepare her rescue efforts. Will the aliens grant this request? Don't make me laugh. These are Uncooperative Aliens of the Week (not to be confused with the slightly more extreme Hard-Headed Aliens of the Week, who would probably open fire on Voyager rather than just cutting off a communication effort).

Meanwhile, on the planet, Tuvok and Paris are befriended by a woman named Noss (Lori Petty), who has been stranded there "for 14 seasons." Their initial meeting is a little bizarre, involving some unnecessary silliness with the universal translator. (The language barrier itself is a decent idea, but it's dismissed so early on that it becomes a non-issue.)

It's not long before the Romantic Theme appears, where Noss begins to fall for Tuvok. Of course, as a Vulcan, Tuvok cannot accept her love and pushes her away. This forms the basis for the Venture Into a Character's Past, as flashbacks of Tuvok's youth reveal a young Tuvok (Leroy D. Brazile) trying to rectify an emotional control problem with the help of a Vulcan master (Joseph Ruskin). Tuvok had been smitten by infatuation at a young age, see, bringing forth that schism between discipline and emotion that we suspect all Vulcans (and not just the half-human ones like Spock) have. This ties into the main plot, see, where Tom confronts Tuvok for not letting go of his discipline and his marriage back in the Alpha Quadrant, as being stuck on this planet forever may present little alternative.

But we must ask—how long will the Doctor last solely on his portable emitter? It must have one hell of a battery.

Okay, so I'm a little heavy on sarcasm here; it's meant more in jest than in disappointment. The way these routine elements come together isn't really bad at all. It's just that routine maneuvering sometimes leaves little to ponder afterward.

What works best here is the analysis of Tuvok as a Vulcan. It's plausible and true to his character, and it's nice to see Tuvok open up (with some prodding) his feelings to Tom. On the other hand, the topic of repressed romantic feelings in Vulcans is nothing new; we've seen it several times through Spock, in TOS episodes ranging from "The Naked Time" and "This Side of Paradise" to "All Our Yesterdays." "Gravity" provides pleasant reinforcement material for a Voyager audience. As a Tuvok episode, it's decent, but it also might've dared to challenge the our typical assumptions of Vulcans by asking if Tuvok's 50,000-light-year-distance from home might alter his perception just a bit.

Which brings us to the topic of Pon Farr: That seventh year is coming up pretty soon, no? (But I digress.)

One aspect of the episode that works is the chemistry between Tom and Tuvok. Tom's forceful attempts to prod Tuvok into a relationship with Noss might at times seem a little extreme, but so is the situation. Robert Duncan McNeill and Tim Russ work well together outside the normal ranks.

What doesn't work are some of the scenes involving Noss. The chemistry between her and Tuvok never entirely reaches a convincing stage, and it's difficult to understand how she comes to develop feelings for him. Also, some of Noss' gestures and speech patterns are a little, well, strange—and not in any way that the story seems to intend. Lori Petty's voice is not what I would call typical in the Hollywood arena, but the performance isn't consistent and at times I wasn't sure what to make of it. Scenes like the one where she explodes in rage ("I hate logic!") are jarring in their strangeness, and not jarring in a particularly effective way. Other scenes seem to come across more "normal."

What does work, fortunately, is the payoff. A scene in the transporter room where Tuvok and Noss part ways is pleasant because it brings Vulcan intimacy to the material in a way that is both plausible and quietly moving. When Noss says "I understand," we understand, too.

"Gravity" is an episode that doesn't demand high praise. Nor is there much to object to. It has its interesting moments as well as its derivative ones. I propose now that Voyager has found a good rhythm for this season—but that it needs to shake things up a bit to unleash something fresh.

67 comments on this review

I would like to praise the physical portraying of Tuvok, for what it's
worth. It may not make the episode better, but it was really Tuvok standing
there, in the cave - not some Vulcan who you are told is named Tuvok.
In the very first shot of the intro (when looking over young Tuvok's
shoulder, I immediately thought: "Hey, he looks like Tuvok. But wait, he's
way younger. It'll just have to be Tuvok in his youth then..."

How about Paris' skeevy suggestion that Tuvok cheat on his wife, because
she's "fifty-thousand light years away?"
Tom can't even be bothered to call Tuvok "sir," despite him being an Ensign
and Tuvok a LCDR, which is contrary to good order and discipline. Then
again, VOY never really cared much about things like a command structure,
except when Janeway needs to put Seven in her place.

I don't think cheating has the same effect that it does on other species,
or namely humans. Honestly, I don't think cheating even becomes an issue
for vulcans EP. Tuvok didn't even mention that it would be cheating per sae
- he just said it is not the pon far. If it was, I'm sure he'd be getting
it on with her. It IS the logical thing to do after all. Tom was right.

My only real complaint with this episode was the alien girl's acting - she
was terrible. I wonder what she did to get the role.

While they could have taken some more risks with the episode, and they
could have avoided the whole alien idiots of the weak (why are they all
knuckleheads for?), I thought it was alright. The ending was actually
pretty good. It had a deep, understanding between the characters that
translated well to the audience.

I must agree with Jasper - I thought the boy looked very like Tuvok and was
convincing as his younger version. Of course it was obvious that he must be
a young Tuvok right from the start (apart from the looks, how many black
Vulcans do you ever see?) but it was interesting to see *such* an emotional
young Tuvok. I wasn't sure about the Vulcan Grand Master though - he didn't
seem very Vulcan-like - almost emotional in his delivery! Perhaps the
character is deliberately like that to engage with off-message young
Vulcans like Tuvok. The real problem here, though, was that we didn't
really see anything of the training that transformed him from emotional
Tuvok at the start into calm Tuvok at the end. We should have found out a
bit about how that transformation came about, but I didn't feel that the
scenes we had were enormously enlightening.

Opening shot: Two members of one of the most enlightened races in the Star
Trek universe in a medieval dungeon talking about honoring ancient beliefs.
They could just as well have shown a scene from a 13th-century Franciscan
monastery. (What's a very young Tuvok doing there, what's the context,
what year is it... - let's not even attempt that.) Next, a chick straight
out of a Mad Max movie witnesses a Voyager shuttle crash landing. Even
before seeing him, you know Paris is involved because (1) he had already
managed to crash more shuttles than could fit on ten Voyagers, and (2) the
broad has some nice junk and who better to ravish her than the philandering
Tom. I'm surprised hapless Harry "Can't Get a Lock - There's Some Sort Of
Dampening Field Around It" Kim wasn't in the picture to dry-hump her.

O.K., cynicism aside, it's a marginally passable episode. The alien girl
should've kept her veil on but you gotta hand it to her for learning
English within a matter of hours. Why Paris is so insistent that Tuvok
likes her (or SHOULD like her) is beyond me. He gets really PAINFULLY
annoying in the later stages, when he berates Tuvok for his handling of the
alien chick's infatuation. Had to FF that part. BTW, he (Paris) was
convinced they were stuck on that planet for good, so why didn't he try to
bumb uglies with the alien girl himself, rather than unremittingly trying
to put Tuvok up to it? If it would've been O.K. for Tuvok (my favorite
character in the series, BTW), then why not him?

WAY too much time was wasted on philosophizing, portraying inner conflicts,
discussing feelings and all that B.S. at the expense of depicting conflict
with the other stranded aliens, Voyager's rescue endeavors or Tuvok and
Paris's attempts to survive and be salvaged. Does every other Star Trek
installment really need to be about crewmembers' troubled relationship with
their fathers, their search for their inner selves, their sad transient
little romances, their trying to make sense of the divergent principles of
common sense versus New Age hippie crap? I'll tune in to one of those
cheesy South American soap operas for that!

P.S. I'm surprised Kim succeeded in teleporting the group at the end. He
usually can't move a glass of water from one end of the dining table to the
other, let alone transport anything. But I guess, with five minutes to go
till the episode's end, another twist would've been too much, particularly
when we needed those five minutes for Tuvok to resolve his vexing,
intricate feelings. I was expecting to see him meditate with scented
candles all over the place and, sure enough, it happened, but only for a
few seconds. Let's hope at least a half hour is dedicated to that in one
of the forthcoming episodes!

*sigh* What had been a very promising fifth series started going downhill
fast in its second half.

I didn't really enjoy this episode much as I was distracted by all the
clichés unfortunately. Add to that Tuvok's emotional control being visibly
(subtly, but visibly) cracked in just 2 months with a fairly uninteresting
Chick of the Week which I find to be a little insulting to his character,
and I can't say I rated this episode particularly highly. It wasn't
completely offensive, but grated a lot too.

An emotional episode about an emotionless man (sort of)--now that's
compelling. This is for Tuvok what "Counterpoint" was for Janeway. Season 5
is really the apex of this series for its greatest strength which was
character. Do I give a damn about any of the surrounding jargon? Magical
shuttlebays, stupid aliens, implausible anomalies, inconsistent
technology...nope. Never have, never will. Do I care about a character I
know enduring a superhuman level of pain, painted on a beautiful and
convincing canvas. You bet. Do I learn something about myself. Sure do. Do
I see like a faint brushstroke upon his countenance the change this
experience paints for Tuvok. Hallelujah I do!

Season 5 followed by 6, 4, 7, 1, 3 and 2 creating a very interesting arc
for Voyager's development which perfectly suites its length. TNG peaked
right at the end of season 3 and pretty much faded out after that, with
season 7 a little better than 6 (of course the journey from 1 to 3 was
extremely hefty). DS9 "peaked" I suppose during season 5, followed by 2, 1,
4, 6, 3 and 7 making it incredibly uneven--with two humps which flittered
out into its worst season amongst them all.

It's nice to see Tuvok get a turn in the spotlight (I found he'd really
been side-lined following Seven's arrival), but this was a really mediocre
episode. The moment I saw yet ANOTHER shuttle crash I think part of me
switched off. It's a tired old premise and this brings nothing new to the
table. I didn't find the relationship between Tuvok and Noss at all
involving and it wasn't helped by Lorri Petty's frankly dire performance.

Elliott - please start your own Star Trek review page. I find myself
agreeing much more with your perspective on this series than Jammer's - and
with most of the nit-picky comments below his DS9-does-everything-better
critiques.

Tom Paris is just getting increasingly unwatchable. I can't believe when I
read people praising his character development. He's a child, always
throwing tantrums. He was exhorting Tuvok to throw away his control and
abandon his life on the FIRST NIGHT. Just like in Thirty Days he was
crying for someone to stay and talk to him within the FIRST MINUTE. Torres
is attracted to this PUNK? That's what he is, nothing but a PUNK and I
wish something or someone would slam his face up against a wall every
episode, every time he opened his mouth with a smart-ass comment, or yet
another un-helpful remark, or when he's rolls his eyes or pouts. I was
begging Tuvok to do this! My favorite character did not step up to the
plate for me.
Since he did not snap and snap Tom's neck, I didn't expect the ending. I
expected just another *awkward moment*. But when he mind-melded with her
that was just beautiful - brought a tear to my eye.
Breaks my heart to have to rate what could have been a great Tuvok episode
at a mere .5 stars because Tom Paris had to ruin every single scene he was
in.

Yes this episode is certainly better than "Q-Less" (and five times better
than "Move Along Home", for that matter). But in all fairness, when you
look at the 10-scale ratings, "Q-Less" got a 5.5/10 and "Gravity" got a
6.5/10, so Jammer seems to agree with us at least a litte.

I did like the temporal displacement idea, it seemed a plausible way to
explore what happens to crewmembers who are stranded for months with no
hope of resuce.

Reading over the comments, it seems all the complaints with this episode
(except the idiotic pleas for more boning and the uninformed
dissatisfaction with Petty -- seriously, guys, this is Tank Girl!) could
have been remedied by making this a two-parter. The extra time could be
spent by having B'Elanna react to the fact that Tom is having to suffer for
a longer period of time, to the worry that they might have given up on
Voyager, and to demonstrating that the language problem was more of an
issue than they have time for in this condensed episode. It would also
give more time with Petty, whose mercurial style needs more space to
breathe in. Here, she just seems inconsistent, due to the heavy-handed
editing. And yes, I would like to see some of the things Tuvok had to do
to overcome his emotions. It would also make Tom look like less of a jerk,
because more time had gone by. The difference in time between the two
scenes just doesn't come off in one episode.

I really hate this episode. The whole 'love story' thing is repulsive. Just
because you're stranded means you abandon your existing life within a few
days? Just because she's female and you're male means you are required to
get it on? WTF? Why is Tom hounding Tuvok over his buried feelings? Just
because someone has feelings doesn't mean you act on them.

Maybe if they were stranded for many years a relationship could naturally
develop as it becomes more unlikely that they'll be rescued. But this is
all too rushed and comes across as cheating.

In another episode when Tuvok must work through his Pon Far with a hologram
he states that the treatment was effective, "but no substitute for my
wife." THAT was Tuvok, this is not. The love story/feelings nonsense
shoehorned in ruins what would otherwise be an interesting episode.

And one other thing, she loves him and he makes it clear that he's not
interested. Sorry lady, that means you're out of luck. But she goes off
about hating logic and all this like that crazy woman in that episode of
TNG that kept yelling at Picard "LOVE ME! WHY WON'T YOU LOVE ME!" So Tuvok
is supposed to love her too because she loves him? Huh? That's just creepy.
A relationship has to be between two willing parties. Then, to make matters
worse, Tom interrupts Tuvok's meditation yelling at him for not loving her
back. Tuvok has the right to love, not love, act, or not act as he sees fit
without Tom treating him like a child. The more I think about this episode,
the more I hate it.

@Curtis: I really hope your comments stem from being young and therefore
inexperience with this kind of situation. Tuvok loves his wife in his
Vulcan way perhaps, but he definitely has feelings for Noss and had no
reason to believe he'd ever be rescued (repeat: ever). All his Vulcan
gibbering to Paris about not reciprocating her feelings was a cover. That
was the purpose of the flashbacks--to demonstrate just how susceptible to
love Tuvok is. How is one to explain to someone that not acting on his
emotions, strong as they are, are the only way he can survive
psychologically? To do so would open up another portal of vulnerability,
admitting fear. Tuvok's choice to meld with Noss in the end reveals the
level of intimacy with which he finally regarded her, and was as much an
act of love as a Vulcan can muster.

@Elliott: Whether or not I'm 'experienced with this kind of situation' is
irrelevant. Do I believe people fall in love or have difficulty with
feelings? Of course. Do I believe Tuvok would suddenly have all these
feelings for Noss in the episode? Not for one second. And sometimes, just
because you have feelings for someone doesn't mean you have to act on them.
We all know Vulcans have emotions so it's nothing new. I could see Tuvok
respecting Noss and becoming unique and special friends but true love? No
way. Even if it was love, Tuvok had the right to cover it in any way he saw
fit, just like we do in real life all the time.

First, people absolutely do fall in love suddenly. Vulcans? Well, they're
described as having feelings many times greater and more intense than
humans, so I would be surprised if on some level they didn't fall in love
suddenly--a lot.

Second, the feelings he developed grew over the course of months, not
suddenly.

Third, you're right that the circumstances in which one finds himself
dictate whether he should act on certain feelings. The situation in the
episode is that Tuvok, Noss, Paris and Doc were going to spend the rest of
their existence together. What would be the point of resisting, says Tom,
with literally zero hope for a reunion with their previous lives?

Of course Tuvok had the right to act as he chose, but it's not about
rights, it's about feelings. With no society, no order, no rules left, the
only conclusions one could draw about Tuvok's behaviour do not justify it.
It's only because we learn of the psychological danger to his Vulcan brain
that allow us to empathise with him and understand his journey.

Tangent here, but Trek would've been immensely improved if the aliens had
been cast with anyone other than SAG's whites actors. Even a foreign accent
would've helped. In the case of, say, the Bajorans, constant reminders of
foreignness (beyond wrinkled noses and religion) would've emphasized their
different agenda. As it was, viewers had to stuggle to remember that
Bajorans weren't straight-up Federation, like Trills with different makeup
(ugh, Trill). Or Neelix: if he had been less vaudevillian huckster and more
Tonto, his role as a local inhabitant of an unfamiliar corner of the galaxy
would've been clear in every episode.

Give credit to TNG's "Code of Honor." They may have been grotesquely
stereotypical, but at least they were more exotic than, say, those wusses
in "The Hunted."

Oh hey Ticking Clock, Uncooperative Aliens, Romantic Hour, Shuttle Crash,
Vulcan non-emotion, the power of Technobabble to save the day, all in this
together, obviously must be saved because of Plot Armor main characters
episode! We missed you!

It's like they just threw all the Trek cliches into one bucket and came out
with this episode. Or more like all the Voyager cliches. All that's missing
is some Fun with DNA! xD

I was genuinely shocked that Tuvok's love interest didn't die though, so
I'll give it that. I like that he melded with her at the end, though. The
most intimate thing a Vulcan can do with someone.

Jammer, first, congrats on the new addition to your family! As a reader,
wishing you all the best!

...

I think the intro to this review sums up Voyager nicely. I don't agree
100%: I like having standalone stories, and a noble crew, that doesn't get
jaded by time and experience. DS9 is more true to life, while Voyager is
closer to fairy tale or mythology, with idealized (or at least more static)
characters. I get a lot of "real" life everyday, and found DS9 and it's
successor of sorts, BSG, trying to drag it's characters (and audience)
through hell just to see the reaction: DS9 in a much softer way, though
(Quark? Rom?)!
There's quite a difference between the family life of Chief O'brien, for
example, and the despair that Chief Tyrol goes through (although they both
go through hell - O'brien, though, only once per season ;).

...

A thought about Tuvok (and what prompted this entry): I suspect Tuvok was
underused partly because his relationship to Janeway was often an
uncontested one: not the case for Kirk and Spock. Entire episodes were
dedicated to the personal conflict between Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Without
that tension, Tuvok did not have as many stories to tell, or drama to be
part of.

Here's the problem. If you want a show about the wonder of exploring space,
set it in the Alpha Quadrant. That's what TOS and TNG were, and they were
great.

But the fact that Voyager never seemed to run out of crewmembers, shuttles,
torpedoes, etc., when it was the only Federation ship for tens of thousands
of light years was just stupid. It made no sense AND it pissed away the
whole premise of the show.

What's sad is that the first two seasons of Voyager sort of tried to use
its unique premise. There's a line in an early episode about how Voyager
only has 38 photon torpedoes, for instance. The second season was about the
only attempt at a sustained storyline. But the Kazon were boring villains
and the creators never really went all in ('Deadlock' is a great example of
hesitant storytelling). After the second season, Voyager became an episodic
exercise in frustration for much of the next five seasons.

Seven's introduction in the fourth season made Voyager a better episodic
show than it had been. But only occasionally was Voyager ever great -- and
usually, when it was, it happened in a single episode set outside of the
main Voyager universe ('Timeless', 'Living Witness').

Enterprise, for all of its flaws, was at least more ambitious overall.
Voyager, though, was just a waste of time.

"...only occasionally was Voyager ever great -- and usually, when it was,
it happened in a single episode set outside of the main Voyager universe
('Timeless', 'Living Witness')."

I'm not as eager to defend this series as, say, Elliott, but in fairness
what Paul says about Voyager's great episodes applies to TNG as well,
namely "Yesterday's Enterprise" and "The Inner Light." Even my personal
favorite, "Cause & Effect," is only "real" in the last act. The same
syndrome applies to DS9, for those who exalt "The Visitor" or "Far Beyond
the Stars."

Several of DS9's best episodes ("Call to Arms", "The Dogs of War", "The Jem
Hadar", "Chimera") were decidedly part of the core story that didn't take
place in a secondary reality.

TNG was more episodic and didn't have the serial concept that should have
been part of Voyager. And even "The Best of Both Worlds" was definitely
"real". So was "Measure of a Man", "Q Who" ... I could go on.

Well, GEOS lists DS9's top ten as "Far Beyond the Stars, Duet, Children of
Time, Trials and Tribble-ations, The Die is Cast, Hard Time, Improbable
Cause, Necessary Evil, The Wire and A Call to Arms"

I would definitely add "Chimera" to the list. My point is of all those
episodes, only "A Call to Arms" is dependent upon ongoing continuity, even
if they're part of "reality" (a rather useless term in my book when dealing
with fiction). Yes, continuity plays a rôle in most of them, but the
success of the story doesn't live or die on that fact. They could (save
"Call") all have easily been episodes of any of the other Trek series with
only minor alterations. I would say the same is basically true of the best
episodes of every other series as well. In TNG's case, many of the best
episodes would not be so memorable if not for the extraordinary acting of
Patrick Stewart, but we can assume they'd give those stories to Nimoy,
René Aubourgenois, Andrew Robinson, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Picardo
or...um...Phlox I guess.

This is probably the most concise argument I can make in Voyager's defense:
given that, in all but the most rudimentary of ways, Voyager did not
utilise the serial storytelling potential which was so heavily emphasised
and part of its billing, its success depended almost exclusively on its
ability to create interesting and affecting episodic television. Every
season had its bumps and bruises, but each and every season has at least
one episode which stands as one of the best the franchise ever produced (1.
"Faces, Jetrel," 2. "Death Wish, Projections," 3. "Distrant Origin,
Scorpion," 4. "Year of Hell, Living Witness," 5. "Timeless, Drone, Dark
Frontier," 6. "Tinker, Tenor, Barge," 7. "Workforce, Author, Author."
Without Voyager, we wouldn't have them. Many, many of DS9's "episodes"
would hardly be worth the time if not for the fact that they amount to
telling part of a larger story. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's
not as though this is a prerequisite of television, even with a "premise"
(as it's mistakenly named) like Voyager's.

"Every season had its bumps and bruises, but each and every season has at
least one episode which stands as one of the best the franchise ever
produced (1. "Faces, Jetrel," 2. "Death Wish, Projections," 3. "Distrant
Origin, Scorpion," 4. "Year of Hell, Living Witness," 5. "Timeless, Drone,
Dark Frontier," 6. "Tinker, Tenor, Barge," 7. "Workforce, Author,
Author.")

If you really think Faces, Jetrel, Distant Origin, Year of Hell and
Workforce come close to "The Visitor", "The Inner Light" "Best of Both
Worlds", "City on the Edge of Forever", "Space Seed", etc. ... then I think
you must be ridiculously drunk.

Some of the Voyager episodes you mentioned were genuinely great.
"Timeless," "Living Witness" and "Author, Author" were Voyager at their
best. But the others are mid-range fair, and "Year of Hell" is a perfect
example of what Voyager could have been if the creators had any guts.

@Paul: I didn't say "Distant Origin is as good as the Inner Light". I
listed 15 episodes of Voyager. It's fair to compare them to 15 episodes of
TNG or any other series not all of them against the top 2 from that series.
Voyager at its best is Trek at its best and its greats deserve the same
accolades from fans as its parent and sister series.

I found myself nodding with agreement all the way through reading the
review. The subtle, sensible and quietly compelling character work for
Tuvok was good but it's a bit too nonedescript to really take off
(especially with such a standard conventional story). It's a respectable
outing with merit (good performances, even-handed direction, exotic planet
sets etc)...but rarely did it step up a gear to make it something truly
emotional and striking. 2.5/4 is my verdict too.

Within a few minutes of appearing on screen I became convinced that Lori
Petty was attempting to channel Leeloo from the movie The Fifth Element
(which came out a couple of years or so before this episode was produced)
with her performance in this episode. Whether that choice was hers or was
that of producers/director/other powers-that-be is an open question.

Sex and intimacy in the twenty-fourth century must be different from what
they are today. When Riker was host to the Trill, he had sex with Beverly
Crusher. When Sisko was in the mirror universe, he had sex with Mirror
Jadzia. I don't see how these events could fail to change significantly
Riker's working relationship with Crusher or Sisko's working relationship
with Real Jadzia.

One small thing I liked about this episode was that instead of putting a
wacky forehead on Lori Petty, they just put sparkly stuff on the sides of
her face.

I had to laugh at Tom's suggestion that Tuvok forget any hope of rescue,
and his wife along with it, and build a new life with alien girl.

A new life, on a crapsack of a desolate world, with exactly two other
people and intermittently a hologram, huddled in a crashed spaceship hiding
from ten times as many enemies, praying that the force field never becomes
non-operational, and with only some hideous looking giant spiders for
food.

I have been reading these comments since season 2 as i have been going
through Voyager series. I think is is amazing that this website was up in
1995. and that Jammer made those reviews over 18 years ago. it seems that
he let comments appear in 2008, or these comment sections would be huge.
in any case, i think this is the FIRST episode recap where i saw Jammer
respond in the comments section...of all episodes...hmm. my 2 cents. I
always love time and space anomalies. it was used very well to make time
pass. yes, I agree with BEEJ so much on his comment about "new life."

I typically enjoy Tom Paris. He's funny and sympathetically portrayed
usually. That said, he was very obnoxious in this episode. If I had
feelings for a guy but decided not to act on them, I would NOT appreciate
someone (even a friend) literally SCREAMING at me that I HAD to act on
those feelings or I'm being unfair to the guy. Relationships have to evolve
naturally; if a person has to be harassed and scolded into participating in
one, he/she isn't ready for it.

This episode reminded me of TOS The Galileo Seven...minus any semblance of
drama or immediacy. The TOS classic had Spock in his first command,
threatening monsters attacking a crippled shuttle craft, a race against
time to escape the surface and outrun the ticking clock, AND the moral
dilemmas of command for Spock - including ramifications of sending fellow
crew members to their deaths.

Sure, the TOS didn't have CGI, was stuck with primitive and even corny
looking sets, even suffered from overwrought dialogue, but the STORY was
solid and riveting from start to finish.

@Elliot I've been agreeing with your remarks almost every episode,
especially (but not only) about some aspects of DS9. However, I can't help
but find it funny to read you accusing Jammer of being biased. I mean, that
Jammer was much gentler with some of DS9’s ludicrous problems while being
quite picky with other shows, like Voyager, it seems quite clear at this
point.

But that you do the same in the opposite direction, also seems quite
evident. Your tolerance to some Voyager's recurring problems with plot
device, bad character development, lazy writing, weak episodes, is no small
deal. Your reading of this episode, for instance, was astonishing: "An
emotional episode about an emotionless man (sort of)--now that's
compelling”, “a character I know enduring a superhuman level of pain,
painted on a beautiful and convincing canvas”, “do I see like a faint
brushstroke upon his countenance the change this experience paints for
Tuvok. Hallelujah I do". Besides the exaggeration of the general prolixity,
well, hallelujah is a wise word. One has to have quite a lot of faith on
Voyager to have seen all that deepness in this episode... But do not get me
wrong. I am not bothered by your bias for Voyager or Jammer's for DS9. We
are not robots evaluating the precision of a warp-engine. I find it to be
quite normal, even welcome because I enjoy your remarks quite a lot. The
only troublesome thing is to read your recurring charges against Jammer due
to him doing precisely the same you do, only with reversed sign....

That said, I enjoyed the episode quite a bit. But it was not more than a
bit above average for me; quite empty and quite shallow most of the time.
For me, character development is not about just throwing at the screen some
event that hits a dear character and then just letting us suppose that and
how it will affect him/her deep inside from now on. It is about showing us,
in some of the following episodes, how and to which extent, such happenings
have affected him/her. That Voyager quite often does not do that in moments
that when it certainly should, it is crystal clear already. Even though,
that’s where I wholeheartedly agree with Elliot. Even if not often, when
Voyager gives us that, it gives probably the best character developments in
the whole Trek. Just thinking of the Doc and Seven would be enough to see
that.

That is a very fair criticism. In my defence, I can only offer the fact
that when I first began reading Jammer's reviews and their subsequent
comments, I was rather emotionally dismayed (not to mention closer to
adolescence). Voyager was unquestionably flawed and an episode like this
one is not a showcase for great Trek, but nor is it the pedestrian fluff
Jammer frames it to be. It's a solid show that works, is interesting,
moving and does indeed bear consequences down the line (just not the kind
of serial CONSEQUENCES many modern viewers demand). I'd probably rate it at
3 stars on the Jammer scale, which is just slightly higher than he
appraises it, but is still the very difference between "okay" and
"recommended."

As I've stated before, I give Voyage rquite a bit of leewya when comparing
it to other series because it was the first one to be charged with carrying
a network, rather than being syndicated. That left it far, far more at the
mercy of absurd gimmicks, ridiculous promos, and various other meddling
from network suits.

"...and does indeed bear consequences down the line (just not the kind of
serial CONSEQUENCES many modern viewers demand)."

I would venture a guess that here "CONSEQUENCES" means something like
"readily apparent developments in ongoing plot, character, etc. as a result
of this episode OR story/character concepts and elements introduced or
elaborated on in this episode are clearly followed up on/uses in future
episodes".

While I will guess "consequences" (lower case) means "consequences that are
only present in Elliot's imagination/delusions, which were possibly
triggered by his emotional trauma at learning that at this website the
author and the majority of the commentators saw Voyager as the all too
often pedestrian show that it is."

I'm glad that word, "pedestrian" was mentioned because that was exactly the
word I was looking for to describe the majority of Voyager's content. Yes,
I agree that maybe on average less than five episodes a season are not and
rise above the rest and are deserving of the Star Trek name (regarding the
standards set by TNG and DS9), but even then the average TNG episode season
3 or later (and same for DS9) is just as enjoyable as most of these, with
only a few each season (or only two) fits in with other "elite" Star Trek
episodes. Sorry that to you a troubling amount of us feel more or less that
way, but using laughably exagerated language (ie. using the phrase
"beautifully painted canvas") regarding a mediocre (another useful buzzword
for concisely describing Voyager on a broad level) Voyager episode is not
going encourage people to take you seriously.

One last thing about your points made about TNG not being very serialized,
either- I know, but where there was continuity in stories it was much more
interesting and better done than in Voyager (Klingon- Romulan alliance,
Cardassian plots starting in "Ensign Ro", Worf's Honor, etc), and TNG
episodic shows still had an excellent overall standard of quality far above
that of Voyager's writing AND acting (so no, not just Patrick Stewart's
incredible acting making them stand out). I believe DS9 is more or less as
superior to Voyager as TNG is, but I will just leave it at that since I am
not in the mood to fan that particular fire of yours.

Just thought I should add that when I wrote my above post I was in kinda a
cranky mood, I have been doing a Voyager re watch using Jammer's ratings to
guide me for what are worth watching and I've ran out of all the three and
four star episodes but deciding to keep going and thus after a night of
watching mediocre Voyager and then reading comments on the episodes (whose
mediocrity were giving me a headache) where a vocal minority tries to
defend them or pretend they can't understand/see the difference between
some of these episodes and good TNG episodes they compare them to got me
more irritated. It was in that mood I made my post, singling out Elliot.
All arguments about the show aside I believe I should have toned down my
rhetoric, as in reading it again it sounds a little too hostile/personal
for a debate about a TV series. I apologize.

It was alright, I suppose. Felt like it was about damn time Tuvok got
another episode. It's been a while. It even has a scene where he beats up
two aliens. Not that the scene means anything. I just enjoy watching the
clumsy way Star Trek usually handles hand to hand fights.
I rather liked Lori/Noss. Her voice and manner of speaking added to her
alien nature. That's the beauty of getting to play an alien race you only
see once. You can get away with bizarre behaviour as much as you want and
they can just write it off as 'normal behaviour for that species'. A little
bit more make up to help her look more alien and less human like would have
been good too, but you can't have it all.
It's pretty forgettable in the grand scheme of things because the entire
episode is selfcontained with absolutely zero chance that any of this will
ever affect anything in future episodes, but for a selfcontained story, it
was pretty decent.

Now if they'll do the same for Chakotay soon, I'll be happy. Dude's
practically been part of the background scenery this whole season. He's
basically little more then a nameless crewman/ensign at this point. Some
attention to his character is sorely needed here.

Someone here commented on the actress playing the alien and how her voice
helped. I'm
Sure that person finds her attractive and that's enough. Personally baby
talking, squeaky voiced, idiotic sounding women kill any story for me. It's
like that film the fifth element with the baby goo goo ga ga crap from the
actress. To me it's a sign that very idiotic people wrote a stupid story.
This episode was utterly intolerable due to the fact we are supposed to
believe an intelligent and logical man would be attracted to a baby talking
idiot woman

Damn, Jammer, DS9 really tainted you. This was a standout episode, and I
really enjoyed Tuvok's character development. And I'm getting tired of
hearing you and others on here complain about "plot devices". So fucking
what!!! If the central story that draws us into the characters is a good
one, like this episode, then who gives a damn about how the writers get us
there... 3.5 stars, easily!

lol Rosario! I was just about to comment on Tuvok not putting Paris's face
thru those rocks when Tom was in his face about Noss being upset and I read
your (3 year old) comment. It wouldn't be a fair fight tho when you think
about it. Remember Vulcans have a lot more strength for their size than the
average human. It's probably that security that allowed Tuvok to retain
control knowing he COULD do that to Tommy boy. I'm sure his old man Owen
Paris must have felt the same way from time to time about him when we was a
little bugger. We know he was always a willful guy. Look at his life's
history (or better yet check out his star trek wiki page).

I'm guessing this was all about showing how excellent Vulcans' emotional
control is. And I must agree that he still showed incredible restraint.
Considering how little he had when he was younger as we saw in the opening
the writers probably had Tom put on a show to demonstrate how resilient
Tuvok had become since then.

But the title still doesn't quite gel with that aspect of the story. If a
fellow trekkie has a moment or two please enlighten me me on that one,
because I just don't see the connection.

Maybe "Gravity" refers to the gravity Tuvok feels with respect to emotion?
Paris may think it's no big deal for Tuvok to open up a bit and have a
fling with an alien, but Tuvok understands that the emotion could overwhelm
him. Hence, he feels the gravity of it. I don't know, I tend not to care
about symbolism.

Anywho, I'm surprised at the people who are declaring this to be a
fantastic, deep, wonderful episode. I mean, I know character pieces tend
to be highly popular around here, but you still have to put some effort
into them. You can't simply toss up an incredibly weak plot and a
relatively by-the-numbers character piece and call it a masterpiece. If
we're going to do that, why not just have the entire episode be Tuvok
giving a personal log declaring how he feels about love?

I mean, yet another shuttle crash? A convenient meetup where the two must
fall in love because... plot says so? Random obstinate aliens producing
artificial timer on the whole plot? Last second danger? The character
revealing that his personality is all based on a single significant event
that happened in his childhood? The love leaving at the end of the
episode? It's all happened before, oh so many times. Yes, I know, nothing
new under the sun, or random spatial gravitational anomaly in this case.
But try to disguise that fact just a whee bit, ok?

It's not that it's a bad episode, it's an okay representation for Tuvok,
but just way too by-the-numbers for me to really praise.

As for what this means for Tuvok, well, I'm of a couple minds about it. I
really liked the idea that Tuvok was more emotional than most Vulcans as a
child. I think that fits his character well, especially given the darker
side of his psyche we saw in Meld. I could see him keeping a bit of that
with him, even as he was externally (and even internally) trained to
suppress it. But the episode didn't really go that way, just giving a
simple "he once had a crush, then got over it" explanation. Seemed a bit
too, well, standard for me at first, and was disappointed. But then, the
more I thought about it, I guess I can hammer it into my impression of
Tuvok. His rebelliousness may have been about his crush, but he wanted all
emotions. He wanted to reject Vulcan ways entirely. He wasn't trying to
bargain, thinking he could love Jara while still being stoic in everything
else. So in a way, it was deeper than just a crush.

And while he accepts Vulcan philosophy, that rebelliousness may still be
there. One thing he learned from his ordeal was that the emotion of love,
at least, was too powerful for him. Hence his absolute seriousness in
repressing that aspect of his life. But perhaps he thinks he can explore,
just a bit, some other emotions without losing control, can still let his
little adolescent self out of his mind every once in a while. Not so that
anyone would ever see it, of course, but in the privacy of his own mind, he
can still explore some emotions. But love? That one he knows is just too
powerful for him. He absolutely must keep that one bottled up. Even if it
means his fellow castaway must suffer...

I can't help feeling that this would have worked better simply as a
character piece. The Tuvok story is really well played - and young Tuvok in
the flashbacks nails the mannerisms of the older character - and I thought
Noss was given a slightly alien twist in the performance that worked well.
It would have been a nice, simple story rooted in character.

But the artificiality of the technobabble element and the forced jeopardy
of the conclusion forces the triviality of the episode to the surface at
the expense of the main plot. That's a shame, and pulls what could have
been a great episode back to the mid level. 2.5 stars.

@Dave - The ridiculous level of jeopardy was stupid, but the technobabble
was needed I think. Thanks to the technobabble over 2 months pass on the
surface. It adds a nice touch I think that they were able to do a love
story that makes a bit of sense due to the passage of time without actually
making sure VOY sits above a planet for 2 months trying to rescue Tom/Tuvok
and failing badly for 2 months.

OK, how did this episode spark "my trek is better than your trek" crap?

I really enjoy Lori Petty. She's in one of my favorite movies of all time
"A League of Their Own" and the reason I like her in that and this is that
she IS different. I thought she played a fine alien here and due to the
nature of this story she was a great choice for the part. They needed
someone to be a little over the top emotionally to play against our beloved
stoic unemotional Vulcan.

I will say Voyager, while at times deserves the daggers it receives,
receives far to many. This is a wonderful little story and a great
character piece for Tuvok.

I agree, that kid that played the young Tuvok nailed it. I love it when
they are able to nail casting like that. I also love the casting with a
young Trip in 'Similitude'. That really adds to the believability of the
story.

Someone above asked about the title. I thought it had to do with the
temporal differential that gravity causes here. (and in real life) As
plausible as all the other trek sci-fi stuff. And as Robert says, it was a
pretty smart story telling device too.

I loved the spider stuff :-)

I don't mind that Tom "got in Tuvok's face" concerning Noss. For all they
knew they were stuck here. It fit's Tom personality to push Tuvok like
that.

I thought Noss' affection for Tuvok was real and they way Tuvok dealt with
her was very Vulcan and with the back-story this episode provided very
fitting.

Very enjoyable each time I watch it. I tear up each time Noss is beamed off
Voyager.

I really enjoyed this episode. I could have done with less flashbacks and a
little more showing in how much of an emotional struggle the grown up tuvok
really is, but well.

I think the tuvok, doctor, paris trio works very well together. I also
really like Picardos performance, he really shows how much the doctor has
changed.

Speaking of acting, Im a little disappointed by Janeway and Mulgrews
portrayel of her starting with season 5. Her Janeway seems hurried and
impatient as well as more superficial. The character basically stays more
or less the same. There isnt much development.
It looks a little like Mulgrew is going through the motions since shes
established the character and the producers were satisfied with her initial
acting. Also season 5 starts with "Night", an episode which allowed Mulgrew
to spend more time with her family, a thing she had supposedly been
"complaining" about.
I think Mulgrew didnt give her personal best since season 5 anymore, with
some exceptions like "counterpoint" for instance.

I don't get the hate for Lori Petty. I thought the way she talked made her
far more believable as an alien than the standard. Even with the universal
translator it's funny how every alien has a typical US accent and syntax.
Refreshing to hear something unusual.

I suppose the alien girl speaks in a weird manner on this episode because
she's an alien trying to speak English? Idk, maybe that's just me.
That said, I liked this episode and I have to agree with one of the above
comments; I don't mind the writers using old Trek standbys as long as it
helps the story get somewhere. And it does get somewhere here, imo anyway.
My only complaint about this episode (and about Voyager too) is that this
all happens in this "self-contained within a single episode" structure. I'd
have loved to see a little continuity and character progress on the show.

By the way, I've been watching all Star Trek shows (besides a few TNG/DS9
episodes and pretty much most episodes of Voyager) for the first time ever,
once they were finally made available on Brazilian Netflix recently, and I
always come here to read your reviews after watching each episode.
Congratulations on your great work!

Unfortunately a minor plot point overshadowed this episode for me: I
couldn't take the artificial urgency seriously. Did Voyager honestly never
manage to communicate to the hard headed "we lost seven ships" that they
have a transporter relay? "Hey, guys, we have a transporter relay into that
sinkhole, if you give us 2 hours we can rescue every single one of your
survivors. You don't have to risk anything, just stay back and let us do
our thing and we'll return your survivors in no time. If we fail, you can
still close the sinkhole. Deal?" They can't be that hard headed to say no
to that!

Anyway, on Voyager nobody seemed to care that all the others aliens on that
planet were going to be crushed. I'd understand if in the end they didn't
manage to rescue them all, but not even talking about attempting to do it?

Why did the aliens attack the ship just before Voyager rescued our
"heroes"?

1) They are cardboard villains who have no motivation but to be villains
and to attack (wasting plasma grenades!) at the moment the plot requires
them to attack.

2) They intercepted the message and make a desperate attempt (wasting all
their weapons) to reach the distress beacon and get rescued before the
subspace sinkhole collapses and they are all crushed to certain death.

There is a scene where two aliens stand outside the force field and hit it
with their fists. At first I thought it's 1) and they're just being
ridiculous. But then I thought of 2) and realized they are in a desperate
panic that they don't get through the force field and will die.

After being threatened and robbed by the aliens for months it's
understandable that Tom and Noss don't particularly care for the aliens.
But Tuvok as the logical person should have brought it up - after all Noss
herself robbed Tom at gunpoint on their first encounter.

The only difference is that she is not using much violence - but who is to
say that's not just because she is physically smaller/weaker/alone? Why is
Noss so important and all the other aliens are not? Is it because she is
white and looks like a human and has sparkly stuff on her face while the
aliens look less human and have darker skin?

There have been several points in the series I have been disappointed by
this crew supposedly upholding Starfleet values. Here it's the blatant lack
of empathy for the lives of the aliens. Based on what? The actions of this
single one hard headed bureaucrat? Does Janeway and the rest of the crew
like to judge all members of a species based on one unpleasant individual?
Thinking back to the void with the waste disposal guy - yes, they do.

@Tmrn I agree with nearly everything you said. It would've been really
engaging if the aliens attacking at the end were that desperate and Tuvok
points out that they are not necessarily the enemy. Of course, that would
require the original message that Voyager sent to include the information
of what the idiotic and inexcusably inflexible aliens were doing to the
sinkhole and what that would do to the planets therein.

My point of contention is the racist remark: "Is it because she is white
and looks like a human and has sparkly stuff on her face while the aliens
look less human and have darker skin?" Too often these days such a
statement is brushed aside, accepted or simply ignored because it targets
"the Man" or white people. Basically it's become acceptable to make
disparaging remarks about a particular skin color because of the skin color
- making a race-based judgement. I understand the history behind the
accusation and for all I know it might be true! But that does make its tone
any less racist than it is.

I mean no offense to you Tmrn. I just wanted to make the point that this
kind of behavior shouldn't be accepted. Again, the trend you point out may
have some basis in fact, but too often it is used by race-baiters on both
sides to pollute the debate with their own agendas.

Looking back at some of the low scores and negative or indifferent reviews
Jammer gave to TNG episodes(the Bonding, Clues, Night Terrors, Silicon
Avatar, Disaster, Hero Worship, Violations, Power Play, Rascals, Man of the
People, Genesis) yet is far more enthusiastic with VOY episodes like this,
Juggernaut, Blood Fever, Heroes and Demons, Prototype, Dreadnought, Alter
Ego , Thirty Days, or DS9 episodes like The a Forsaken, Dramatis Personae,
Move Along a Home, The Storyteller, His Way, Looking for Par'mach for
instance has me totally befuddled. He needs to run DS9 and VOY back through
the same process he did the TNG reviews. I hope a lot of those scores and
semi positive to outright enthusiastic reviews might change